Ivan Milev

This watercolour is one of the most touching works on the Bulgarian people Ivan Milev made during his last artistic period.

The title implies through the black clothes of the women that the theme of the painting is death and its mourning. Once again Milev gives voice to the pain, which is born by all women of any nation.

The composition shows five women walking along a fence. In the background a mountain and a house on its top dominate. The bodies of the figures are distorted by the pain in their souls and in their hearts. They hold their hands up, folded to pray. The painting does not clarify if the women come from a funeral. Following the directions of the movement going from left to right, the observer is positioned on the other side of the fence looking at the women.

The composition is structured in vertical sections, marked by the fence and the figures, and by horizontal sections like the mountain. The figures are assembled in a group of two and three women. It could be that Ivan Milev wanted to show a continuous sequence of movements, expressing the development or growth of pain. The upright walking women on the left have folded their hands to a gesture of prayer. The third woman could be giving voice to a shout of pain directed to heaven, before she falls into herself and bends her body in the following two figures.

The body form and dress of the figures are clearly structured. They are made of big, geometric spaces that stress the vertical and horizontal zones of the painting. The cutting into pieces of the form, characteristic of the second period, has vanished. The mountain is not very detailed and does not suggest the might shown in Black Bread (1926).

The dominating colours are dark and earthy. The pale brown shades of the background contrast the colourful and thick colours of the foreground. The intensive colours of the aprons contrast with the brown, black and blue shades of the dark dresses and head cloths.

The theme of the painting could be referred to an additional elaboration of the events of 1923. The all pervading pain has become human in the works of Ivan Milev, not lastly because of the softer lines of the figures and a less strong stylisation. These features, characteristic for the third period, are already known from September 1923 (1925) and Refugees (1925 - 1926).

Our Mothers Are Always Dressed in Black [Našite majki vse v černo chodjat, bulg.], 1926
watercolour, paper, 58 x 86 cm
National Art Gallery Sofia, Inv. Nr. III 13

Literature:
Marinska, Ruža ed. Ivan Milev. 100th Anniversary [100 godišnina na Ivan Milev, bulg.]. cat., Sofia {Nacionalna chudožestvena galerija}, 1997, Sofia 1997, p. 73.
Marinska, Ruža. The 1920s in Bulgarian art [20te godini v blgarskoto izobrazitelno izkustvo, bulg.], Sofia 1996, p. 21.
Michajlova, Antoaneta. The Artistic Formation of Ivan Milev [Vormirane na chudožestvenija vzgled u Ivan Milev, bulg.]. Sofia 1979, p. 91.
Peteva-Fillova, Elena. Ivan Milev [Ivan Milev, bulg.]. Sofia 1940, p. 53.
Sofia – Europe: Bulgarian painting (1900 – 1950) in the context of European art, ed. R. Marinska, cat., Sofia {National Art Gallery}, 1999, Sofia 1999, p. 60.
Stojčeva, Volja. The „Synthetic Style“ and the artistic search of Ivan Milev during the years 1921 – 1925 [„Sintetičnijat“ stil i tvorčeskite trsenija na Ivan Milev prez 1921 – 1925 godina, bulg., in: Izkustvo]. 1986/ 3, p. 19.

This work together with the painting Black Bread (1926) are two of the most expressive works of the last period of Ivan Milev’s art.

A young man in front of a chain of mountains is shown. He rides a horse. His curly, long hair and green cape wave in the wind. The title refers to a song on the popular legend of Krali Marko whose horse could fly over mountains.

The first lines of this folk song go:
Lo and behold Marko comes
Leaping from mountain to mountain.
Fog and dust rise in front of him,
Stones rain behind him
While his horse paws the ground.
When Sharets the good horse snorts
Fire comes out of his nostrils,
White foam drips from his mouth –
White foam mixed with blood …

(quoted from: Avramov, Dimitr ed. Ivan Milev – Album with six reproductions. Sofia 1994.)

The pictorial space is cut by a diagonal determined by the upward movement of the horse, the hair and the cape. The landscape and the background have a vertical structure. The body of the figure is made of small colour patches and ornaments. The landscape is determined by broad brush strokes. The horse is less stylised than the figure.

The diagonal of the composition divides also the distribution of the colours in a bright upper and a dark lower part. The ornaments of the green cape give the scene a fairytale-like atmosphere.

Krali Marko [Krali Marko, bulg.], 1926
tempera, paper, 56 x 34,5 cm
City Art Gallery Sofia, Inv. Nr. 1685

Literature:
Marinska, Ruža ed. Ivan Milev. 100th Anniversary [100 godišnina na Ivan Milev, bulg.]. cat., Sofia {Nacionalna chudožestvena galerija}, 1997, Sofia 1997, p. 18.
Michalčeva, Irina. “The Artist of the Nation’s Suffering.” [Chudožnik na narodnoto stradanie, bulg.] Izkustvo 2 (1978): 14.
Michalčeva, Irina. “Ivan Milev.” News of the Art History Institute (Bulgarian Academy of Science, vol. 16) [Izvestija na instituta za izkustvoznanie (Blgarska akademija na naukite, vol.16)]. Sofia (1973): 71.
Peteva-Fillova, Elena. Ivan Milev [Ivan Milev, bulg.]. Sofia 1940, p. 54.

This painting belongs to the few decorative works of the third period.

An impressive landscape with mountains and fields is depicted. In the foreground of the composition is shown a woman wearing a traditional Bulgarian dress. She seems to be heading for the mountains. In her hands she holds bread, as suggested by the title.

The formal language refers to the one known from the flat and decorative works of the second period like Evening Prayer on the Field (1923 - 1924). The spaces of the mountains and of the sky melt into each other. The foreground and the sky are characterised by vast spaces of contrasting colours. The mountains and the clothes of the woman are painted with more details.

In difference to earlier decorative works those of the year 1926 are determined by a great variety of colours, resulting from the use of water colours that allow for more plasticity and atmosphere.

Black Bread [Cernijat chljab, bulg.], 1926
watercolour, gouache, paper, 46,5 x 55,5 cm
National Art Gallery Sofia, Inv. Nr. III 788

Literature:
Peteva-Fillova, Elena. Ivan Milev [Ivan Milev, bulg.]. Sofia 1940, p. 87.

This is another work from the cycle of the refugees. The works of the cycle are not dated exactly so that it is difficult to state the exact chronology. The present work shows a group of men, women and children.

The scene is probably placed outside. The centre is occupied by a group of four women and a child. The facial expressions are hardly to be distinguished, but it seems that the central figure, who has the child in her arms, is smiling. To the left of the group stands a man, holding down his head. In the background on the right there is another unidentified person.

The lower part of the panel and the background are smudged, while the colours and contours of the central group are fairly clear. The blight colour of the sky and the shining yellow, red and blue shades give the painting a light atmosphere.
The use of well covering gouache colours makes the forms and the colours more distinct. This allows for the assumption that the work was realised before Refugees (1925).

Refugees [Bežanci, bulg.], 1925 - 1926
watercolour, gouache, cardboard, 42 x 55 cm
National Art Gallery Sofia, Inv. Nr. III 1235

This work belongs to the third period of the oeuvre of Ivan Milev. It marks the passage away from decorative water colours to more artistic expressions.

A man with a weapon and a sickle is shown. Opposite of him, in the right part, stands a woman with her head down pressing a baby to her chest. The title explains the scene. It is the farewell of a family. The husband leaves to take part in the bloody upheaval of 1923. Ivan Milev has interpreted this historic moment already earlier in September (1923).

Both figures are shown in profile. The bodies have been sketched before hand. The woman looks away from the man. The movement of the man’s body points to the left, but his head and arms are turned right, towards the woman. The composition is harmonious. The open chest of the man demonstrates his will to fight and his conviction, while his face, the nearly closed eyes, mirror uncertainty and pain.

The shades are mainly brown and orange. Colour intensive sections are the dress of the woman and the cape of the man. The colour shades make the figures more plastic.

September 1923 [Septemvri 1923 godina, bulg.], 1925
watercolour, paper, 41 x 46 cm
National Art Gallery Sofia, Inv. Nr. III 40

Literature:
Koceva, Ionka. “The Art of Ivan Milev.” [Zivopista na Ivan Milev,bulg.] Septemvri (1973/ 4): 223 - 4.

This small sized water colour is the only explicit depiction of saints in the oeuvre of Ivan Milev and refers directly to the orthodox tradition of icon painting.

The saints painted are of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church; from left to right they are John, Basil and George.

The verticality of the composition, stressed through the tree on the left side and the stones with the saints’ names on them in the lower part of the panel as well as the compact and undifferentiated bodies of the figures, is contrasted by the thick, black branch behind the nimbus’ in the upper part of the painting.

The faces of the figures are very clear. The saints have various, alienated facial expressions similar to the one of the Village Madonna (1925). The dark colour of the saints’ clothes dominates the painting. The only intensive colour is represented by the red book in the hands of the right saint.

Three Saints [Tri svetiteli, bulg.], 1925
watercolour, paper, 46 x 49 cm
National Art Gallery Sofia, Inv. Nr. III 1389

This painting belongs to Ivan Milev’s religious works of the third period.

It is painted with watercolour and tempera. Together with the work Harvester (1925) it marks the transition from the decorative to the expressive period.

The composition comprises several figures. The Madonna with child is seated in the centre of the panel and looks at the observer. She is placed in a kind of cave. Three female figures can be seen through an opening in the background. They are shown from the back and bend down.
The title of the work implies that the country life and its difficulties are narrated. The suffering face of the Holy Mother represents the difficult life of so many people, personified by the faceless figures in the background. The strong expression of sufferance is also traceable in Achinora (1925).

The horizontal format of the painting contrasts the vertical composition. It oppresses the figures. The soft contours of the figures seem expressive despite the decorative composition. The flatness of the composition is softened by the tender water colours. The earthy colours fill the painting with warmth. In difference to Harvester (1925) is the line in this painting neither geometric nor stylised.

Village Madonna [Selska madona, bulg.], 1925
watercolour, tempera, paper, 40 x 61 cm
National Art Gallery Sofia, Inv. Nr. III 1540

Literature:
Peteva-Fillova, Elena. Ivan Milev [Ivan Milev, bulg.]. Sofia 1940, p. 82.

This small sized painting is part of the water colour cycle “Refugees” created during the third period.

Two full size women are placed in the foreground and look at the observer. In the background other figures and a crucifix are hardly to distinguish.

The composition is dominated by the two female figures. The left figure wears a white head cloth, a red top, a white apron and a black skirt. The right figure wears a black head cloth and dress with a yellow apron. The facial expression of the figures is hardly to identify, but their eyes are stressed. The rectangular, vertical form of the dresses dominates the composition.

The light brush and the lack of contours around the forms communicate a vague and uncertain atmosphere, similar to how people who flee must feel. In the work of Ivan Milev spreads the expression of feelings and sensations.

Refugees [Bežanki, bulg.], 1925
watercolour, paper, 47 x 40 cm
National Art Gallery Sofia, Inv. Nr. III 782

Literature:
Peteva-Fillova, Elena. Ivan Milev [Ivan Milev, bulg.]. Sofia 1940, p. 94.

This painting is one of the last of the second period executed in tempera.

It shows the paraklis of Maglen in spring. The monument is located in isolation on a small hill surrounded by a wall and trees. In the wall a shrine of the Holy Mother is incorported. Within the cloister walls graves are visible. In the background are placed a number of houses.

Vast spaces of monochrome colour and a soft brush characterise the painting. A shining green, blue and red dominate.
The formal language recalls the decorative paintings from the beginning of the period and foreshadows the forms and geometric lines that develop a narrative potential.

Monastery of Maglen [Paraklist na Magliškija manastir, bulg.], 1925
tempera, bronze, paper, 57,5 x 74 cm
City Art Gallery Sofia, Inv. Nr. 37

Literature:
Peteva-Fillova, Elena. Ivan Milev [Ivan Milev, bulg.]. Sofia 1940, p. 40.

“The works of Ivan Milev are the highest manifestation of European Secessionism, intertwined with Symbolism and Expressionism in Bulgarian art. At the same time it is rightly claimed that Milev’s artistic achievements enrich modern European plastic culture with the tragic intonations and visions of a great Bulgarian painter.”

Ruža Marinska, Marinska, Ruža ed. Ivan Milev. 100th Anniversary [100 godišnina na Ivan Milev, bulg.]. cat., Sofia {Nacionalna chudožestvena galerija}, 1997, Sofia 1997, cover.

Art historian Ruža Marinska synthesises the artistic developments of European Modernism which Ivan Milev explored in his art. These styles served him on contents and stylistic level to express the essence of things and fundamental human truths, ever so strongly claimed by Bulgarian art critics of the time.